USGA Selects Players for USA-China Youth Match

Eight players to travel to China for six days of competition and cultural exchange

By
USGAJuly 26, 2013

Wilson Furr, who reached the Round of 32 at this year's U.S. Junior Amateur, was selected to play in the 2013 USA-China Youth Match. (USGA/Steve Gibbons)

FAR HILLS, N.J. – The United States Golf Association will lead a delegation that includes eight junior golfers –
four boys and four girls – and will represent the United States in the 2013
USA-China Youth Golf Match, co-sponsored by the USGA and the China Golf
Association. The third edition of this international competition that fosters
camaraderie and sportsmanship between the two nations will take place August 2-3
at Nanshan International Golf Club in the Shandong Province of China.

The USA team members are all age 16 or
younger. Each player, in addition to being an accomplished
golfer, is a member of Leadership Links, a jointly administered program of the USGA
and the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) that promotes service and
volunteerism among aspiring junior golfers.

The boys representing the USA are A.J. Beechler, 13,
of Pinehurst, N.C.; Wilson Furr, 15, of Jackson, Miss.; Seiya Liu, 16, of
Beverly Hills, Calif.; and Patrick Martin, 16, of Birmingham, Ala. The girls on
the team are Dree Fausnaugh, 16, of Maitland, Fla.; Divya Manthena, 15, of
Camarillo, Calif.; Ciara Petronzio, 15, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Jean Tyrrell,
16, of Leawood, Kansas. Manthena is the only returning member from last year’s
team, which competed at CordeValle Golf Resort outside San Francisco. She was a
recipient of the 2013 USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award, given out on July
10 in Lancaster, Pa.

“This match is a wonderful opportunity to build off
the success of last year’s event,” said USGA Vice President Daniel B. Burton,
who will accompany the team on the trip to China. “The young men and women
representing the USA will have the chance to experience the hospitality and
culture of China and all of us will share the game’s spirit, traditions and
camaraderie with our counterparts at the China Golf Association.”

The
USA-China Youth Golf Match will consist of four foursomes (alternate-shot)
matches, four four-ball matches and eight singles matches over two days of
competition. Prior to last year’s Match at CordeValle, in which China came away
the victors, the inaugural match was held in 2008 in China in
conjunction with the Beijing Olympics, with USA prevailing.

The team from the United States will arrive in China
on July 30 and spend six days in the country. In addition to the scheduled
golf, the team and USGA representatives will experience cultural activities and
tours, including stops at the Nanshan Buddha and Tourist Resort, Great Wall and
the Forbidden City in Beijing.

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